Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention 

About: Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention is an academic journal published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Medicine & Rehabilitation. It has an ISSN identifier of 1932-7501. Over the lifetime, 1143 publications have been published receiving 24171 citations. The journal is also known as: J Cardiopulm Rehabil Prev & JCRP.

Core components of cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs: 2007 update: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Prevention Committee, the Council on Clinical Cardiology; the Councils on Cardiovascular Nursing, Epidemiology and Prevention, and Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism; and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Abstract: The American Heart Association and the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation recognize that all cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs should contain specific core components that aim to optimize cardiovascular risk reduction, foster healthy behaviors and compliance to these behaviors, reduce disability, and promote an active lifestyle for patients with cardiovascular disease. This update to the previous statement presents current information on the evaluation, interventions, and expected outcomes in each of the core components of cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs, in agreement with the 2006 update of the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Secondary Prevention Guidelines, including baseline patient assessment, nutritional counseling, risk factor management (lipids, blood pressure, weight, diabetes mellitus, and smoking), psychosocial interventions, and physical activity counseling and exercise training.

Effects of muscular strength on cardiovascular risk factors and prognosis.

Abstract: Physical fitness is one of the strongest predictors of individual future health status. Together with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular strength has been increasingly recognized in the pathogenesis and prevention of chronic disease. We review the most recent literature on the effect of muscular strength in the development of cardiovascular disease, with special interest in elucidating its specific benefits beyond those from CRF and body composition. Muscular strength has shown an independent protective effect on all-cause and cancer mortality in healthy middle-aged men, as well as in men with hypertension and patients with heart failure. It has also been inversely associated with age-related weight and adiposity gains, risk of hypertension, and prevalence and incidence of the metabolic syndrome. In children and adolescents, higher levels of muscular fitness have been inversely associated with insulin resistance, clustered cardiometabolic risk, and inflammatory proteins. Generally, the influence of muscular fitness was weakened but remained protective after considering CRF. Also, interestingly, higher levels of muscular fitness seems to some extent counteract the adverse cardiovascular profile of overweight and obese individuals. As many of the investigations have been conducted with non-Hispanic white men, it is important to examine how race/ethnicity and gender may affect these relationships. To conclude, most important effects of resistance training are also summarized, to better understand how higher levels of muscular fitness may result in a better cardiovascular prognosis and survival.

Aerobic Exercise Intensity Assessment and Prescription in Cardiac Rehabilitation

Abstract: Aerobic exercise intensity prescription is a key issue in cardiac rehabilitation, being directly linked to both the amount of improvement in exercise capacity and the risk of adverse events during exercise. This joint position statement aims to provide professionals with up-to-date information regarding the identification of different exercise intensity domains, the methods of direct and indirect determination of exercise intensity for both continuous and interval aerobic training, the effects of the use of different exercise protocols on exercise intensity prescription and the indications for recommended exercise training prescription in specific cardiac patients’ groups. The importance of functional evaluation through exercise testing prior to starting an aerobic training program is strongly emphasized, and ramp incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test, when available, is proposed as the gold standard for a physiologically comprehensive exercise intensity assessment and prescription. This may allow a shift from a ‘range-based’ to a ‘threshold-based’ aerobic exercise intensity prescription, which, combined with thorough clinical evaluation and exercise-related risk assessment, could maximize the benefits obtainable by the use of aerobic exercise training in cardiac rehabilitation.